I've never mentioned it to anyone, but I had a full feeling, similar to breast feeding. Like when the baby hasn't nursed for a long time and you need to feed them. I also had the sensation like milk letting down on several occations, and it was on both sides. Do you think that means anything?

"The work will wait while you show a child the rainbow, the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."
Dx
5/6/2009, ILC, 1cm, Stage Ib, Grade 2, 0/1 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-

Sheila thats what I exactly had. One of my boobs decided to perk feel full and look great ! I got suspicious and at one of my ob-gyn visits mentioned it to the nurse she felt it and said it was ok. But then in 5 months wham.. mammo found a tumor which had become palpable(if I really went digging looking for it )(

Sheila- I was actually really happy with my left breast because it was all perky and my right breast was starting to hang a bit (I'm 48). Then I realized that breasts are supposed to hang at my age and had a second look at the left one. It did feel full and a little sore- like before your period. I had my ovaries out 2 1/2 years ago so it couldn't be hormonal fluctuations. It took me awhile to realize it was a lump because it didn't feel like a lump. It felt like an oblong, flat eraser with a very bumpy surface. Everywhere I read they were talking about lumps the size of a lemon seed or a pea, never a long rectangular thing. Also, in my mind a lump was round and mine was so flat that it was hard to feel against the chest wall. A medicine student said she wouldn't have felt it if I hadn't told her it was there. And it was 2 cm.! There actually were 2 lumps in the left breast- 2 cm. each. That aslo confused me because I couldn't find anything on the internet about several lumps, so I thought I was just lumpy. What got me to go to the doctor was one web site that emphsized comparing the breasts because there should be the same kind of lumps on both sides- any differences are what you should worry about. Also I saw "dimples". The tumors pull at the skin a little- especially if you flex the muscles that are behind the breasts. The normal check for breast cancer (lying down and rubbing in circles) didn't help me find much. But by squeezing the breast together from each side I could feel something. Also, in the shower with soapy skin I could feel things better. When I jumped up and down in front of the mirror, I could see that the breasts were behaving differently than each other.

You can tell I spent alot of time in front of my mirror and feeling my lumps, but otherwise I wouldn't have gone to the doctor. My lumps weren't "hard", they weren't "unmovable" and they were a little bit sore. The normal "self exam" didn't help me out, but by putting my breasts throught the paces, in every which way, I saw that things were strange. At the end I could even see that the breast looked a slight bit "angular".

Just one more thing that I don't think is emphasized enough, if you are past menopause (hormonal changes aren't a factor) get yourself to a doctor if there are changes in the breast! As I understand it, the 80% of lumps are benign figure applies MUCH more to pre-menopausal women than post-menopausal. After menopause, only something like 50% of lumps are benign. Correct me anyone if I have my figures wrong.

I don't mean to scare anyone and Sheila, I really hope you find out that you just had a scare and that everything is just fine. But the things I have mentioned now are just the things I wished I had known before I actually was diagnosed.

My experience was similar except that my doctor didn't feel it either during my physical. Two weeks later, my mamo picked it up at 1.8 cmm. It did not feel like a lump but like a ridge which is why we missed it. More education needs to be given to postmenopausal women about this type of breast cancer. I didn't have a clue!

I didn't have a full feeling until it started to grow after I had my mammo. Being small breasted didn't make a difference in finding anything sooner,.either. What was really strange,.was the fact I had gone target shooting one weekend,.took my sons friend with us and while he was shooting,.a hot shell casing flew through the air and landed right in my bra on the left,.(at the time it was funny as hell) lt left a tiny burn on my boob,.I thought nothing of it. 2 weeks later,.while laying in bed,.I ran my hand across the exact spot where that casing had landed and bingo,.there was the lump. I see that as being a sign. If I hadn't gotten burned,.I may not have ever checked! Anyway,.once this thing started growing,.my boob felt very heavy,.but,.they also felt heavy right before my period so,...and my lump felt round,.smooth,.and it could be moved around,.it didn't feel "attached" to anything,.I could almost wrap my fingers completely around it. It didn't feel anything like the model boob I felt at the docs office as to what breast cancer is "supposed" to feel like.

Gitane- Well, I haven't got the path report yet after the surgery so the IDC is just from the needle biopsies. By next week maybe things will have changed. I didn't know that ILC were unusual shapes/hard to find. I had digital mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies and a MRI (apparently lighted up everywhere on both breasts- but they did find a small tumour on the "good" breast). Could ILC have gone undetected through these tests?

The resounding theme of all of these replys is...lobular cancer is a mystery to most women. We have all been trained to look for lumps. I brought my breast to my doctor's attention two years before I was diagnosed. It was getting smaller and there was increasing thickening. The mamo and ultrasound tech kept telling me that I had dense breast tissue.

By the time they finally did a biopsy the mass was about 8cm and invasive.

We should all remind our lady friends that BC is not just about lumps. Everyone should be looking for thickening, shrinking and yes, that feeling of letdown.

Had I know about lobular cancer, I believe it would have been diagnosed while it was still non-invasive, and my treatment may have been a lumpectomy and radiation.

I'm not crying over spilled milk, I'm just amazed that with the gazillions of dollars going into breast cancer research and education there is not a stronger emphasis on lobular and inflammatory BC.

lindainfla.....that's a good thought. Most women believe that if they get a good report from a mammogram that they are all clear. Having had bc once before, I thought I was very knowledgeable but I had never heard of lobular and had no idea that it wouldn't show on a mammogram and in my case also didn't show on u/s......scary!!!!

Thank you for your post lindainfla. You are so right. I am starting to notice articles popping up in magazines getting ready for October, BC awareness month. The one I just read, made no mention of ILC or IBC, and stated that mammography is the "gold standard" in diagnosing BC. I think I will write letters to the editors of these publications expressing my concern. Maybe if enough of us do something like that it would help get the word out.

Susan

"The work will wait while you show a child the rainbow, the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."
Dx
5/6/2009, ILC, 1cm, Stage Ib, Grade 2, 0/1 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-

You are right. I'm going to start a thread on the ILC page. Hope that's the right terminology. As with everything, word of mouth among women is better than anything! Thank goodness for my friends and the wonderful ladies of breastcancer.org

I, too, had that "letdown" feeling similar to what happens in breastfeeding. I never mentioned it to anyone either. I don't know if it is relevant or not.

Neither I nor my doctor could feel my lump and it did not show up on a previous mammogram or ultrasound taken just a few months before I developed a dimple in my breast.I have ILC.

At each and every mammo. the tech would mention how dense my breasts were but not once did anyone ever say maybe an MRI would be helpful here. My tumour was 4cm by the time I had surgery and I had a mammo and u/s every year, for years.

Was surprised to see this as this was exactly the feeling I had and told the clinic dr about it. I told her I felt the same as when my milk came in and she just looked at me in a frustrated kind of way and asked if I was pregnant (too). Sheesh. But I had not seen this description anywhere else and figured it was just me. It was certainly an odd feeling to have, considering I was not breast feeding and had not been for 6 years!. I wonder if it is because the tumour starts to push other tissue away and the breast is literally "full".

I have this same feeling in my breast,like when I was nursing my kids a long time ago,but when I mention it no one has heard of this or they look at me like I am nuts. Wish I could find an article to show Doc. Last years Mamm and ultrasound was a BI- Rads Category 3 No solid mass but cystic changes very very dense tissue ,ductal dilatatiom etc. Last weeks Mamm (no ultrasound done ) was Normal? Not sure what went on there the report didn't even mention my left breast and not much compression was felt,have an appt. next week to talk about that,but would love to know if there is an article about the feeling of" let down" in breast I could take with me.